Tyler

Congrats on the new/used Vista. What model year is it and how much did you have to shell out? Post pics when you have time.....

Good luck with getting dealer costs. The only way to get this information is to open your own store. I don't think there's as much profit as you think with the premium lines. I'm not in the spa business by the way. Each dealer will have different selling points depending on overhead etc. This transaction is going to be much harder for you compared to buying a big screen tv or new car. I would be leery of a dealership that would drop their price 4K in five minutes.

Do you have comparison electrical usages from the prior year? That would be a better indication of your estimated increase. Did you happen to install X-mas lights in December? That does seem like a huge increase. Do you use gas or electric to heat your house? The best method would be to install a meter connected to the spa. You might be able to get some help from your dealer or your electric company. Where are you located and what has been your average outside temperature during December and February?

Very nice pictures. You bought one of the best spas ever made. Give us a review when you have more time with it.

Chas, I get the same feeling as you do. I think this is a personal issue with soakerman. He might be hearing you but I don't think he's "Listening" to you for some reason.

Yup... Unless you put a kW meter on the spa and record how many kW it uses over a period of time, all you're doing is guessing at how much power it's actually using. A difference in power consumption between this year and last year only indicates, well, a difference in power consumption for your entire house. There are many things besides a spa that can increase your power consumption..... Some other appliance that's malfunctioning (like the extra fridge in the garage), a new TV that has a high power stand-by mode, a new computer that's left on all the time, a well pump with a leak, colder ambient temperature (the average temp is a poor indication of expected power use), or any other of probably 100+ things. It's easy to blame the spa, but all the things I've mentioned above have been discovered to be the real power hogs over the years, and eventually reported on various message boards. While this may be true, in my case, I haven't added anything but the spa in the last year... and the power consumption for every month over the last year is almost exactly the same: 750 kwh/ month. Doesn't go down in the summer, or up in the winter, it's pretty steady (I don't use A/C or electric heat, or even a drier for that matter, so there's not much to change season to season, except perhaps lighting, and I use CF's in all my fixtures)... so I'm pretty darn sure the increase to 1790 kwh is entirely the hot tub. So, can I just add some foam panel insulation to it? Thanks, Tony How can this be? I thought this post was from the real Vermonter. There should be a law against using this username.

Don't you need to flush out the system with vinegar once or twice per year?

Very nice. I didn't know the Euphoria was back? Didn't Marquis discontinue the model a couple of years ago? It was a good seller at the time. I also noticed that the Marquis site doesn't include the tri-zone demo for the Epic anymore. I wonder why they pulled it from the website?

Well that's certainly your opinion. I would expect that most people in your situation with that type spa would have spent less but would also spend about $20 to $50 more per month (or $250-$600 per year) to operate the spa and would get about 5 less years out of it. Now if someone looks at that and still prefers your route (a DIYer especially could make that argument by thinking they can service it himself) then that's fine. I'd say you spent just about what the spa is worth so I'm not saying you got taken, just that you chose a cheaper route up front. Very well said. This reminds me of the "You Can Pay Me Now or Pay me Later" theory.

Send this letter to them. Many dealers I've seen keep letters from happy customers on display, as a helpful reference for customers. They might appreciate hearing from you. I'm glad to hear things have worked out for you - that's great service! I will definitely send him a letter. It is kind of sad at reviewing this post, I see a lot of attempts to hijack it so folks can banter back and forth. I simply wanted to pat me dealer on the back. I sure as $%#@ did not want a cheap shot aimed at the brand of my spa or its reliability. I spent good money and did a lot of research into buying what my family wanted. From what I have seen in reviewing this site and others, all spas have a problem at any given point. That is where support is very important. Yes, your dealer did you right. I thought Soaker's comment about your spa was very rude. Welcome to spatopia. Take some photographs for us.

Very nice bmlors. How did you win the spa? The Epic is Marquis's top of the line spa. You might want to take a closer look at the other models if that is possible. If not, you can't beat a free spa.

You just did Great dealer Hows one of the best tubs made??? /quote] Apparently the spa isn't that great if it had a issue right off the bat and to be honest the service techs had to make two calls to hopefully fix the first miss diagnosed problem that should have been dealt with before the spa was delivered? Do they wet test the spas? Hopefully they got the kinks out and all is well:) Soaker, you are a piece of work. I think the dealer provided great service. How many problems have you had with your spa? Why do you constantly bash dealer backed spas? It sounds like you have buyers remorse with your Internet spa.

Amen brother. This guy calls them like he sees them. You get what you pay for in this world. What? No Platinum Elite IV models coming in the future?

I'm curious where you live? I would hate to live in an area with such strict restrictions. I think some of the newer caninets look very nice. Make sure you will have acces to the equipment compartment if you ever need service.

Another happy ending. Looks like paradise to me. What's the median home price in Ventura nowadays?

Roger, thanks for the info. I'm already on a system similiar to what you suggest. I'm a huge Vermonter fan. Chas is recommending something entirely different here. He is saying that he only adds dichlor once per month and relies on ozone and N2 for his defence. I don't believe he's keeping the chloring residual at 2-3ppm with this method.

Chas, in a previous post you said that you only need to add chlorine once per month in conjunction with ozone and N2. I thought you needed to add a sanitizer (dichlor) after or before each soak to kill the bacteria. You mentioned adding MPS after each soak but MPS is only an oxidizer. Please tell us more about your Water Care Method. I know you have been in the business for quite some time so I would like to hear more about your method and experiences related to this topic. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They can tell because the water quality goes south. No longer crystal clear, foul smelling, slime. the only solution is to chlorine shock, or change water. And the filter can clog quickly too. You get the idea, I hope. And the point of "just adding chlorine just once a month" is what a good ozone system is all about. Put a Nature2 cartridge in a spa which circulates water full time, and add MPS once a week - or after each use, you choose - and you don't need chlorine but once a month as a shock. Not cheaper, but folks do seem to like it.

Traveler, how do you deal with customers like Solo? Do you ever tell a customer to hit the road and to never come back? I bet that is more satisfying sometimes than making a few hundred dollars commision.

Travelingspaguy, Good luck with your career change. I didn't see anything wrong from your comments. It's not like you can make a profit here either way. Not sure why some people are so critical. I'm curious how much a traveling spa salesman can make per year? How about an average one versus a good one for comparison?

That's what I call good service. You can't go wrong if you happen to live in Chas's neighborhood. He's one of the best regarded HS dealers in the US.

Soaker, I thought that was you running the register at my local Costco. Next time, put the Corn on the Cob in a seperate bag. My wife yelled at me for the lousy packing job.

How much was the Optima selling for?

I believe the HS system is on full time.

+ Can you send me a link to the outdoor sealed bags? What a great idea.

You lost me on this one pal. What you asking?